Learning to Grow
by RedKiteBait
Summary: The beginning was the easiest part of their journey. Kate and Tony must go through endless amounts of dangers and challenges, and come out victorious as they grow as individuals.
1. CH1  Graduation day

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokemon. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction.

**Author's Notes:** This is my first fanfic, so I'd really appreciate the criticism! I love criticism!

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><p>Chapter 1 – Graduation Day<p>

Kate and Tony were walking through the bustling streets of Violet City on the way to Earl's Pokemon Academy, where they had spent the last 5 years learning the basics in life. Now they were ten years old, it was graduation day, and the arrival of a difficult choice.

"Graduation day eh," Kate sighed. "The five years have gone so quickly."

"Yeah..." Tony agreed. The two friends passed a huge building, in which its entrance appeared to be decorated with a sculpture of a pair of wings reaching up for the sky. "One day we're going to enter there and win!" He announced triumphantly. This building was, of course, the city's Pokemon Gym. Kate nudged him with his elbow playfully.

"Yeah, training of course! Come on, we're going to be late if we dawdle. You know how Mr. Cog doesn't like people being late!" Mr. Cog was the school's favourite teacher, he made lessons go by quickly and they had a laugh nearly every lesson. But he was also very strict, but the pros outweighed the cons. He was the current head of their year and deputy head of the school.

They hurried along until they got stopped by a wall of people. Kate pulled a frown, desperate not to be late, since the Academy was looming tauntingly above the heads of the crowds. She began to push and shove through the people, popping out the other side – almost running straight into the middle of a Pokemon battle.

It was a battle just outside the school grounds, a child perhaps a year or two older than her stood confidently at one side, where on the other side...

"Mr. Cog!" Tony cried out in disbelief, finally managing to catch up to Kate by more polite means. Kate could not believe it either. Usually the teacher would not enter a battle with trainers, but this kid must have been persistent. Mr. Cog didn't like students knowing what Pokemon he has, so he may always have an advantage, just in case.

In front of him stood a Girafarig, eyes fixed on its opponent calmly. In front of the teenager was a black jackal-like creature with yellow ring markings along its body.

"It's an Umbreon!" Tony whispered in awe. The black and yellow Pokemon was growling at the looming Girafarig, which was making no reaction, which aggravated the Umbreon even more. The trainer chuckled.

"You see," He started to brag. "Your psychic Pokemon is going to have a hard time defeating my Umbreon, since psychic moves aren't effective." Kate couldn't help but giggle.

"He's not a Professor for nothing!" Kate called from the sidelines and burst out laughing, along with Tony. Mr. Cog said nothing, but nodded discreetly at them.

"Let's get this over with shall we? Just because my Girafarig is a psychic type, it does mean he knows exclusively psychic-type moves." The teacher explained in his teacher-like ways, much to the discontentment of the trainer, who beckoned Umbreon to step in his shadow. With no noise the creature evaporated into thin air.

"Using feint attack? Very clever. Since it's a dark type move my Girafarig can't sense his presence psychically, but..." Suddenly, with a snap from Girafarig's tail with large pointed teeth and a yelp, the Umbreon reappeared in its jaws. "But, should never attack from behind a Girafarig. Its tail has a heightened sense of smell than its front does."

Girafarig turned around and deposited the Umbreon. It had a severe bite mark on its back, and was bleeding slightly. However it still got up again, advancing to attack once more. Without hesitation, Mr. Cog ordered a Double Kick, and with that, the Girafarig kicked the Umbreon with its hind legs, turned around and reared, its front legs kicking the Umbreon to the ground once again. This time the Pokemon did not get up.

"And, as you see, Double Kick is a fighting type move, thus super effective against Dark type Pokemon." Mr. Cog concluded. The trainer irritably withdrew the wounded Umbreon, and brought forth a new Pokéball, and with it a new Pokemon. In blazing magnesium-white light, a Pokemon that looked like a bull with three tails appeared. But it looked already tired and bruised.

"Let's go Girafarig, we're late." He withdrew his yellow and brown Pokemon and turned away.

"Wh- what? Wait! We're not finished!" The trainer exclaimed.

"Unlike you, I have a job I need to attend to, which has strict rules and guidelines. Secondly, your Taurus appears to already be tired and unfit for battle. It would be an unfair advantage." Mr. Cog then entered the school grounds with no further word.

"Ah, Tony, we should get going too!" Kate announced, checking her watch. They followed the teacher inside and headed to their classroom. They quickly made it to their seats, along with , who waited for the last few students to come in.

"Hey, Tony!" Whispered a guy behind them. Tony shifted slightly in his seat to turn around. It was Derrick. He and his two colleagues, Rory and Shaun, had always been a bother to Tony since he had first arrived several years ago. Tony wasn't the only victim though; other kids in school were also bullied by this trio.

"Just you watch, I'm going to pick the best Pokemon, and then I'll make it clear to everyone that you're a loser." He threatened. At this, Kate spun on her seat, eyes flashing with anger as Tony sank into his seat. Luckily for him, he had a friend like Kate.

"Hey! Leave him alone! He could probably beat all three of you with just one Pokemon! That's how much you guys suck!" She retaliated with agression. They shut up. Kate wasn't on their list of victims. She had a strong spirit, which also made her a loyal friend.

Mr. Cog cleared his throat, signalling the start of class. They quickly turned to the front, taking out some of their belongings.

"Don't let those losers push you around, Tony. When you get a Pokemon they'll see that you shouldn't be messed with!" Kate whispered to Tony. He said nothing. Tony was one of the few top students in the class, he was analytical and very clever. These two aspects were important in Pokemon battles, as they had learnt, so Kate's word's were not at all hollow. However Tony was very modest.

"Now then." Mr. Cog said all of a sudden, standing up and observing the class with his dark eyes. All whisperings were silenced immediately. Then the teacher broke into a smile – a rare occasion.

"Today is the day some of you will begin your career in Pokemon, am I correct?" Some children nodded, some didn't. Not all children wanted to be Pokemon trainers; some wanted to be doctors or artists and other non-Pokemon occupations. Most kids wanted to though. They had signed an application form for their Trainer Licences earlier in the year.

"Well. Here in my hand" Mr. Cog held up quite a few brown envelopes and showed them to the class. "I have your Theory results. Some of you may have passed, some of you may have failed. When I call your name you can come to the front and collect your envelope. Adams!"

One of the children from the front came and took his letter, opening it in front of the entire classroom. As he opened it, a little white card fell out. He squealed, picking it up, and dropping it again in excitement. He quickly made it to his seat, bouncing up and down. People laughed at the antics.

"Brown, Derrick!" The brute behind them got up noisily, deliberately knocking Tony over the head discreetly with his elbow. Tony frowned, rubbing his head.

"I hope he failed his theory." He whispered to Kate. Unfortunately he spoke too soon. The duo frowned as their enemy began to whoop and laugh. Tony face desked.

"Only by a tenth of a point, Brown. I would have failed you if I marked it myself." Remarked Mr. Cog, folding his arms. "Now back to your seat." That lifted Tony's spirits a little.

continued to call out names. Tony was soon called out; he passed with flying colours, but he was the only one who didn't seem to celebrate as much, except for a small smile and a glint in his eye. To make Tony's day better, both of Derrick's cronies failed the test, and Tony's smile got bigger. Kate passed too, so all was well. Only a few people failed, but they had something to fall back on, so they weren't too unhappy. They could always become trainers by other means. Soon everyone had received their envelopes, and were comparing marks. Mr. Cog soon cleared his throat again, demanding full attention.

"Now remember class; Training Pokemon will probably be the toughest thing you will ever face. I know already that most of you won't even get to the second gym badge. We have taught you all we could. But there are some things we cannot teach you, and you must discover and learn them for yourself. You'll be facing the pure elements of nature."

"I won't fail! No way!" Kate exclaimed, standing up abruptly. The whole class turned to her as she interrupted the teacher's dialogue. She shrugged at the reception. "Well, I'm not going to go through all that for nothing, am I?" She reasoned.

Mr. Cog smirked. "We'll see to that. I know your type well. Impatient, brash and a bit of a boaster. You would be one of the first to back down." At this, Kate scrunched up her eyebrows and frowned.

"I'm not at all like that!" Kate exclaimed in denial. "I'll prove it to you sir! I'll even get all eight badges! Just you watch!"

"We'll see. Now sit down." She did so, scowling. "As I was saying, the journey will be difficult. But you won't be alone. You may be travelling with your friends, or by yourself, but you'll never be alone; Your Pokemon will always be there with you. That is why choosing your starter Pokemon is probably the biggest choice you will ever make."

With this, Mr. Cog pulled out several magnetic images from a drawer in his desk. "Since the alliance with the Kanto Region, the choice of starter Pokemon is much wider" He began to place six different images onto the blackboard. Most of the kids knew them already, as they were seen by older students that had come before them.

"Choose wisely; once you have chosen your partner, you can't change. That's why we're only allowing you to choose in the afternoon."

After a hearty lecture explaining each Pokemon in detail, along with pros and cons, it was soon the lunch break. Kate and Tony met up with Rick, who was in the other class. They broke the news to them, and he seemed pretty happy for them. Rick had already told them months ago he didn't check the form to start Pokemon training. After discussion over lunch on what Pokemon they wished to have, the duo made their decision. Kate wanted to have a Totodile, whereas Tony hoped to get a Chikorita.

The bell finally rang, signalling the end of the lunch break. Once more making way to their seats, the suspense was starting to make them giddy. Also, Derrick behind them made another comment.

"Hey, Kate, I persuaded the teacher that I could choose first. How'd you like that?" He taunted. Kate turned around, eyes narrowing. Everyone knew there was a limited number of Pokemon, after all.

"You're bluffing." She said blandly, not believing him.

"Oh yeah? You'll see. My dad spoke with the teacher yesterday about it." With that, Mr. Cog came through the doors, along with a man in a white coat, with two silver briefcases. There was a gasp and whispering was rekindled, until Mr. Cog's eyes panned the room, returning to silence.

"Attention all! Now is very important time for you all! I hope you have made a wise decision?." He waved a hand at the six pictures on the blackboard, that hadn't been removed. "Like we've done in the past years, we draw names out of a hat, to make things fair. We wish you all to get the Pokemon you desire, one way or another. Now, could Mr. Brown come forwards? His parents notified me that he has to leave for a dentist's appointment in a few minutes, so I'm afraid that we must allow him to choose first."

Kate's mouth dropped to the floor. That wasn't fair at all! Kate believed that the excuse was a lie, but she said nothing, not wanting to delay getting her Pokemon any further. With that, the man in the white coat opened the two briefcases on the desk, revealing rows upon rows of Pokeballs. The class gasped again, and a ripple of whispers spread around the room.

Much to Kate's dislike, Derrick took a Totodile. "He must've overheard me!" Kate growled under her breath.

"There is usually more than one Totodile, Kate..." Tony replied, watching Derrick leave the room. Meanwhile, other names were called out as Mr. Cog pulled out names of the hat. One by one, students came down from their seats to collect a Pokeball of their choice.

Tony was quickly called down soon after, which he happily accepted a Chikorita. Returning to his seat, huge smile plastered on his face as he caressed the cream and green coloured Pokeball. That must have been the most he had smiled that day. Names continued to be called, but Kate had not yet been summoned.

Gripping the edges of her desk, impatience was starting to settle in. What if there were no Pokemon left for her to choose? She ground her teeth in frustration as starter Pokemon began to run out. First it was Squirtle, then Chikorita. Then Totodile ran out.

With a moan, Kate sank into her seat, head landing on her desk with a rather loud thud. She really wanted Totodile! Now she would have to pick another Pokemon at last-minute to her distaste. But which to choose? Kate was so certain on having Totodile that she hadn't thought of a plan B.

She felt a tapping on her shoulder. Looking up slightly, she saw Tony. "It's your turn, Kate!"

Propping herself up, the entire class was looking at her, waiting for her to come down. She didn't feel like it any more, with her hopes being broken as such. Trudging to the front of the class, she still hadn't made any decision.

"Well, I'm afraid there isn't much choice now. But I'm sure out of these you will find a perfect partner!" The white-coated man encouraged with a warm smile. Kate wrinkled her nose as she looked down at the briefcase. There were only three Pokeballs left, one a sort of navy with red spots, an orange one and finally, a green-turquoise one.

Kate had honestly no idea which to pick. None of them really appealed to her in any way whatsoever. She wasn't fond of the fire types that had a tendency to burn things by sneezing or laughing. Cyndaquil sets it self on fire whenever afraid, and with it's naturally timid nature, that was pretty much all the time. Charmander had a burning tail, which if it didn't pay attention could probably set a house on fire. Bulbasaur has way too many weaknesses, and in Kate's opinion, was also the ugliest of starter Pokemon.

Kate groaned. It seemed there was only one way to do this. Closing her eyes, she held out her hand. The first one she would touch would be hers, not cheating, no swapping afterwards if unhappy. At first she missed, feeling the dome shaped cavity. Drifting her fingers across the rough foam, she finally touched something smooth and round. Running her fingers over it's entirety and getting a firm grip, she pulled it out the briefcase.

She barely opened her eyes when Mr. Cog announced, "Charmander! A good choice! It matches that fiery personality of yours!" Looking down, Kate saw the orange and white ball in her hands.

Suddenly, the importance of what Pokemon to choose fizzled away slightly. Kate had worked with Pokemon before in class, but this time, this Pokemon was hers, and hers only. Just like Tony, a smile began to draw it's way across her face, though not as big.

Looking to Mr. Cog, she smirked. She hadn't forgotten about what he said this morning. "Sir, I'll prove to you I'll get past the second badge. I'll get all of them!" The teacher merely chuckled, telling to go to her seat.

Brandishing her Pokeball at Tony, much in the same way he did to her, she beamed. "How hard can catching and training Pokemon be? I watched hundreds of Pokemon shows. It'll be a doddle!"

Oh how wrong she was.


	2. CH2  Not As Easy As It Seemed

Chapter 2 – Not as easy as it seemed

"Why is this so hard?" Groaned Kate, gripping her auburn hair with both hands in frustration. After sleeping for one final night in Violet City, they had set off that morning in search of the dark cave nearby that was said to contain some strong pokemon. The plan was to catch at least one pokemon inside the cave, so they would have a sporting chance against the Violet City gym leader, Falkner.

"We've only been walking for an hour." Tony replied at her complaint. "Besides, my arm hurts more than my legs right now." At this, Kate frowned.

Tony and Kate had parted ways, to go home. It was summer, so the sun was still out in the evening. Ever since he had received his Chikorita, his grin hadn't been wiped off. Derrick had left for the entire afternoon. Though the day had started a nightmare, it had ended on a good note, in his opinion.

Thinking about the starter pokemon in question, Tony brought out the pokeball, feeling it's smooth creamy surface. He couldn't wait to show his chosen pokemon to his foster parents. Neither him nor Kate had the time to take out their pokemon yet, as they were briefed the whole afternoon on last-minute advice and pokemon-catching tactics.

He was about to release Chikorita when he heard a noise behind him. Turning around, at the end of the street, he could see three shady individuals. Tony frowned a little, concealing the ball in his pocket. Crime wasn't as bad in Violet city as it was in Goldernrod, but it didn't mean it didn't exist, even here. Tony quickened his pace, not wanting to mess with the wrong people.

"Hey, Tony!" A voice called out. Tony froze. He knew the voice, more so as the guy knew his name. He turned around once more. It was Derrick. With two new cronies. They looked a lot tougher and more serious than Shaun and Rory. Derrick had never followed Tony home before. This didn't feel right. Tony was afraid.

Derrick seemed to read Tony's fear, and smiled. "Yeah, that's right Tony, good old Kate isn't here to save your butt this time. And I made new friends, see? They say if I join their gang, they'll give me an awesome pokemon of my own choosing!"

"I-I don't want to talk to you." Tony mustered to say. He turned to leave, but Derrick grabbed his arm, bringing him back to the group.

"Say, you have a pokemon now, don't you?" Tony nodded a little, to afraid to say anything. "We should have a fight. You know, like a pokemon fight?" Shoving Tony away, Derrick pulled out his pokeball; a light blue with red triangles. His new friends did so too; but they bore standard pokeballs.

Tony's eyes widened, making a gurgling noise. He didn't have the courage to stand up to him, no way. Derrick had probably been training his pokemon all afternoon, and his 'new friends' looked like they already owned capable pokemon. Tony stared, anticipating the situation. Then he fled.

"Get him! Idiot!" A deeper voice shouted. Something knocked Tony over, winding him. Through the corner of his eye, he could see lots of creamy fur on the creature that was pinning him down. He couldn't tell what the pokemon was. "Are you really going to make us do everything for you?"

Tony wriggled, but the pokemon above him was heavy and persistent. He couldn't do anything, not even reach his pocket to pull out his starter pokemon, the sole thing that could give him some sort of chance of surviving. Regaining his breath, there was only one thing he could do.

He screamed. A terrible scream full of pity and fear. "H-help!" He coughed. He felt a warm light appear to his side.

"Crap! Busted! Let's go!" Said a voice. "Come on Derrick, we're screwed!" The weight of the pokemon suddenly disappeared in a soft glow of red light, allowing Tony to roll onto his back and sit up, watching his attackers flee. But a figure remained in the spotlight of the orange lamp post. With a small familiar creature at his side.

Someone grabbed him by the shoulder, hoisting him up to his feet. Looking up, his eyes met with an old man. He bore a kind smile, and his eyes showed experience.

"You'll be alright, kiddo. You have a pokemon?" Tony nodded, bleary eyed. "Then show him that bad guys cannot win. I'll watch your back." Just then, Totodile rushed, coming in to fight.

"I'm not giving up until I've beaten you, Tony! Get him!" Tony was fumbling for his pokeball, but Totodile wasn't waiting to attack Tony's pokemon. He was going to attack Tony outright. Instinctively he brought his hand up to shield himself as Totodile sprung from the ground. Tony made a noise as the little pokemon's teeth sunk into his flesh. In reaction to the sudden pain, he flung his arm away from him, Totodile detaching, but not without making the wound even worse.

Tony doubled over in pain, biting his bottom lip, clutching his bloodied arm as he saw a yellow creature with static fur bounce forwards, sending an electrical shock to the attacking pokemon. Tony couldn't concentrate anymore, only feeling red liquid oozing down his arms and legs, soaking his trousers.

Next thing Tony knew, he had woken up in a hospital ward with a tightly bandaged arm. A nurse had told him he had been lucky – a Totodile that actually knew the bite attack properly would have broken his arm. His parents had visited him as soon as they found out – the old man and informed them. With lots of painkillers and a tightly wrapped bandage, Tony was released the next morning.


End file.
